1.
Question: What's makes this site so special, why shouldn't I go straight to
the source by searching on eBay myself?
Answer:
I'm glad you asked! One good reason to let us help you is that we are very
familiar with the facilities there. In order to provide quick and accurate
results, we purchased a custom "engine" to drive searches from this
site. This tool is called an "applications programming interface" or
API, which accurately and quickly interfaces with eBay to pull back currently
running auctions in the category you requested.
If
you were to attempt searching through eBay directly, we know from experience
that it would take longer. For example, you would have to key in your search
string. That's not a problem, but we know from experience, it is only human
nature that many searches are formatted or spelled incorrectly, and would
yield misleading or often incorrect results. Using our interface prevents that
from happening in many situations, and will bring you the most accurate
results possible in the shortest amount of time.
Additionally,
we have constructed a listing of the most common searches in this niche, many
of which you might not have thought about, adding to the power at your
fingertips, and yielding better results. To start those other searches, the
side bar on every page of this site contains the list of common searches. Our
visitors also find that clicking is much faster than typing and then clicking.
Lastly,
the API that we utilize in some situations is able to filter out items that
would not be of interest. For example, if you were doing a query for a
"green widget", the native eBay search would return things like
green widget repair manual, green widget belt buckles, etc., and bury what
you're looking for with dozens of pages. Our API will generally not return as
many extra items.
Since
accurate results are of primary importance when attempting to make a major
purchase like this, we feel that our API was money well spent, and hope you
also agree. That being said, if you ever need to do a customized search that
isn't listed on this site, you can simply navigate to the eBay site from the
bottom of the auction table, that says "View All Items On eBay" and
go from there.
2.
Question: What if I'm not currently registered with eBay? Can I still use
this site?
Answer:
Of course. Many of our visitors are not currently registered with eBay, and
use our site and the eBay listings provided, purely for research in order to
come to buying decisions, sometimes even making the eventual purchase locally
offline. In that case, you don't need to register with eBay but you're welcome
to use this site as a research tool.
On
the other hand, if you see something you would like to purchase, you do need
to be registered with eBay before you place your bid. Doing so is an easy,
quick, and free process. Just click on the "register" button on the
top of the page you're on at the eBay site. It will lead you through the
process.
3.
Question: Is there a charge to use your site? Is there a charge to use the
eBay site?
Answer:
No, there is no charge in either case. The only charges eBay assesses is to
the sellers of the merchandise, and use of this site is always free.
4.
Question: Are you associated with the sellers of the items that are shown? In
other words, are you giving preferred placement to some sellers, in which case
I would be missing out on the best deals?
Answer:
We are not associated or affiliated with any of the sellers. Even if there
were a small chance that some day we would be listing an item ourselves that
matches your query, the API that we use would not distinguish our auctions
from those of the other 25 million or so eBay sellers, so no preferred
placement would be given.
